Instructed by the CPS, Pupil barrister Mairi Clancy recently secured convictions against two defendants for three homophobic hate crimes in the Magistrate’s court. The case involved cultural and linguistic complexities. Ms Clancy also successfully applied for hate crime sentencing uplifts pursuant to section 66 of the Sentencing Act 2020.
The law recognises five types of hate crime on the basis of:
- Race
- Religion
- Disability
- Sexual orientation
- Transgender identity
Any crime can be prosecuted as a hate crime if the offender has either:
- demonstrated hostility based on race, religion, disability, sexual orientation or transgender identity
or
- been motivated by hostility based on race, religion, disability, sexual orientation or transgender identity
The police and the CPS have agreed the following definition for identifying and flagging hate crimes:
"Any criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice, based on a person's disability or perceived disability; race or perceived race; or religion or perceived religion; or sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation or transgender identity or perceived transgender identity."
Mairi accepts instructions in crime, family and domestic abuse cases.